The new types of child maltreatment: A public and social emergency no longer negligible

Child abuse and neglect is a common problem that is potentially damaging to long-term physical and psychological health of children. As society and culture have progressively changed different configurations of child abuse and neglect have emerged. Few attention has been focused on these types of child maltreatment that represent the new emergency in this field. Pediatricians should be trained to play a major role in caring for and supporting the social and developmental well-being of children raised in variously conditions and in new types of problems. Pediatric care has been based on the increased awareness of the importance of meeting the psychosocial and developmental needs of children and of the role of families in promoting the health.